Clarke Cooke House

07/28/2008 Posted by AmityM

This place is huge, lots of different rooms. I ate upstairs on a Sun. afternoon, the indoor portion. Salads all had a unique twist to them. The Newport Clam Chowder was good because the clams weren't chewy at all! The broth had really good flavor too, although I wouldn't have minded if it was a little creamier. Good bloody marys too.

07/07/2008 Posted by LaurenNYC12

The service was horrible, the decor is dated, and the staff is very pretentious. They called twice to remind us to dress nice, and so I expected it to be a very upscale place, but the only thing upscale was the prices- my swordfish and my boyfriend's halibut were both very over-cooked, and it took 10 minutes before our waiter even came to bring us water while we waited on the very hot and stuffy roofdeck. There are much better meals to be had in Newport. UPDATE: I wrote this review yesterday, and today my boyfriend discovered that they charged his credit card THREE times. This place is HORRIBLE!!

Pros: location

Cons: bad service, mediocre food, pretentious staff

06/13/2008 Posted by lindsey12345

i love this restaurant. i had the most beautiful and delicious tomato salad ever! but the real kicker was the burger!! it had gorgonzola cheese in the middle of it. heavenly!!!!!

Pros: burgers

03/27/2008 Posted by girly2000

In response to some of the reviews about the Cookehouse I think the people who have complaints about tables and service is understandable but a misunderstanding as well. There are some rules that Cookehouse has that make it run smoothly. One of them is a dress code. At night after 7 proper dress is required (no hats, torn jeans, and a collared shirt for men). If someone had entered the dining room before this time they would be allowed in. Hence the reason you saw people leaving who did not have "proper" dress. As for changing a 4 top to a 6 that is the way they change the tables. Everyone receives this service and it is not a last minute decision but planned out that a table of 6 would be seated there. There are very few tables that will fit 6 and to accommodate more larger parties they will arrange the table in order to comfortably fit more than 4. The Cookehouse has a great menu and experienced staff. Don't leave without trying the snowball in hell!

Pros: ultimate experience of Newport

Cons: parking

12/26/2007 Posted by zarita25

We stayed at the Chanler and they recommended this restaurant to us. While it might have been one of the few restaurants open during our Christmas Day dinner, I still believe I would have preferred to order Dominos. Do not follow the first two reviews as they are actually written by the restaurant itself, as a few of the reviews are on CitySearch. As for the restaurant, it is very overpriced, the portions are small, the seafood/fish is the worst. It is not fresh and arrived very overcooked and poorly prepared. As for the service, he forgot our silverware THREE TIMES during the meal and only brought our bread basket after asking twice. We finally got it after dinner was served. When we first entered the restaurant, the hostess assured us we had a wonderful table by the fireplace, and it turned out to be a tiny table crammed in a small space between the staircase and a large party which was extremely loud. The restaurant was pretty empty being Christmas Day. Be prepared to fight for a good table, even when they are so obviously available. Even the complimentary chocolate at the end of the meal was of horrible quality.

Pros: Good views

Cons: Everything else

07/06/2007 Posted by zeckler

Arrived at 8:30 for an 8:30 reservation, was told to wait by the bar for our table. After abot 30 minutes I asked if our table was ready and finally they decided to seat us (1/2 hour past our reservation!). Wine clerk recommended a 2002 merlot to go with our meal, so I ordered it. The wine clerk shows up at the table with the same bottle, only the vintage was 2003. Mistake? Probably not. Only positive was that my fiance is a vegan, and they admitted that the vegetarian dish on the menu contained dairy instead of just serving it to her and making her sick. Overall, pretty bad experience. Restaurant appears to be a hotspot in Newport, but I would really only recommend it if you are (1) Very old and very rich, or (2) Very young, very pretty, and looking for a sugar daddy.

Pros: Ok food, appears to be a newport hotspot

Cons: Dishonest service, stuffy atmosphere, overpriced

05/07/2007 Posted by kellyconn7997

Do not go here. Me and my boyfriend went here in the beginning of May, we looked around and a lot of places were not open. We tried next door at the black horse or whatever it was called but I was starving and it was a 30 minute wait there. So we went to the Candy Store. There was no wait and it was very pretty and had a view of the waterfront. Well no wonder there was no wait, this place is horrible. I look at the menu and could not really find anything I wanted but I did see the lobster rolls. So I ordered that and the waitress said the price went up to $35.00 due to seafood inflation. Next door you can get it for $16.00 what a rip off, so I order the duck shepard's pie and my boyfriend got the pasta. We had to wait a while before our meal was done and the atmosphere was annoying with the locals laughing so hard I just wanted to walk out. So finally our food comes and it was disgusting. You think for that price it would be decent. It wasn't. I could cook better than that. So lesson learned if there is no wait there is a reason for this. Too overpriced and the food is gross. Go next door more of a selection.

Pros: A great view of the waterfront

Cons: Overpriced, food bad, service bad, locals place

08/31/2005 Posted by mermer72

I live in Nepwort and do not recommend this place to anyone. The door staff is extramly rude during the summer months and will not let locals in but have no problem letting us in when the summer crowd leaves. Also, everone I know thinks the food is awful.. Stay away!

08/08/2002 Posted by bigink

The Clarke Cooke House is the essence of Newport - romantic, festive, preppy casual, with a great location right on the wharf. I live in Rhode Island and this is my favorite place to hang out, either for dinner or cocktails. In winter, settle into a sofa in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine and good company. In the summer, the Sky Bar is one of the best spots in the city for people-watching. Don't leave without trying the "Snowball in Hell" for dessert.

08/08/2002 Posted by johnrf2

The Clarke Cooke House offers classic food done well in a classic setting.

Pros: cuisine, menu